


To All The Girls I've Loved Before

by lalablue0



Series: 413am [7]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Batman and Robin (Comics)
Genre: Baby Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Gen, Mostly Fluff, Some Swearing, a touch of angst, brotherly teasing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:08:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28058946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lalablue0/pseuds/lalablue0
Summary: Brief moments in Jason's young life. Featuring some of the women in the Bats' lives.
Series: 413am [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2017310
Comments: 6
Kudos: 106





	To All The Girls I've Loved Before

**Author's Note:**

> Reminder that this is AU. Recently @just_add_butter reminded me that canon doesn't respect us, so why should we respect canon. So instead of worrying that I am not writing a character correctly, I am writing how I want. 
> 
> Of note -   
> All sections take place within Jason's first month.   
> Jid = grandfather
> 
> Title comes from the Willie Nelson song. (I dunno why)

“So I was just supposed to find out from the news you got another kid?”

Shit. Selina. Shit. Shit. Shit. 

“I was going to call you,” Bruce offered.

Bruce sat in the rocking chair that Alfred set in his bedroom. Jason was swaddled tightly and sleeping in his arms. His bottle long finished, Bruce just couldn’t seem to put him down in the bassinet yet. 

“You were going to call me? Call me to tell me you got some other woman pregnant? Really Bruce, don’t you think I deserve more than that?”

Bruce carefully stood with Jason and tried to be mindful of the proper way to hold him to support his head. He moved past Selina and placed Jason in the bassinet. Bruce then stood to his full height and grasped her by her elbow, pulling her to the other side of the room. 

“First off, I didn’t get another woman pregnant,” Bruce said in a harsh whisper. 

Selina crossed her arms across her chest and fixed him with a glare. 

“The baby you were just holding seems to dispute that,” Selina countered. 

“It’s Jason.”

“Yeah, why would you name him that? You already have a Jason.”

Bruce gestured to the bassinet, “That. Is. Jason.”

Selina paused and creased her brow. She sputtered for a moment and then quickly turned and went over the sleeping infant. She picked him and studied him. 

“What happened?”

Bruce relieved Jason from Selina and placed him back in the bassinet. “He died.”

Selina’s eyebrows shot up. “Bruce?”

“I don’t know what sent him back to us as a newborn, but I am so glad it happened. He’s perfect.”

“Bruce? Surely you can reverse what ever curse-”

“It wasn’t a curse. There is no magic involved. John Constantine said the universe made a course correction.”

“Bruce? You’re saying that he is not going to age back up?”

“Well, he will grow up all over again.”

Selina seemed to consider him for a moment. She closed her eyes and shook her head. “And you’ll raise as your own.”

“He’s my son, Selina. I have a chance to give him what he should have had in the first place.”

“I know,” Selina smiled, “I guess I should be glad that you didn’t cheat on me.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t call.”

“You’ve been busy. I get it now.”

Bruce slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him. She pulled him into a deep kiss and then led him to the bed. 

The next morning, she was gone. 

  
  


\--

  
  
  


The Batmobile screeched to a halt in the Batcave. Batman sighed and then glared at Robin in the passenger seat. 

“I did not call her,” Robin offered. 

Batman and Robin exited the vehicle and approached the platform where Talia stood. Alfred sat at the computer, feeding Jason. 

“We must leave immediately. Damian please get changed,” Talia demanded. 

Damian eyed Bruce, but went to change as instructed. 

Bruce took off his cowl and stood in front of Talia. He noticed that she had one of his and Damian’s suitcases sitting on the floor by Alfred. 

“And where are we supposed to be going?”

“Far away from Gotham. My father has by now read about the child, he will seek to take him from you.”

Bruce crossed his arms over his chest. “Why? What would Ra’s want with him?”

“Damian is heir to the Bat. This new child will present a challenger to the title and as such my father will do everything in his power to insure Damian’s accession. Even if that means hurting such a small child.”

“So you suggest I run. I’m supposed to up and leave our life here and take my children - where?”

Talia paused and fixed a steely gaze at him. “My beloved, I need you to appreciate the danger here. This child is just the excuse my father needs to go to war.”

Bruce leaned back against the desk and crossed his ankles. “War? He’s a baby.”

“He is your son. That is all the reason he needs.”

Bruce glanced at Alfred. “You do know that this is Jason, right?”

“You claim him as your son.”

“Talia, I am not taking him away. I will not hide him. Ra’s has nothing to fear from Jason.”

“The effects of the Lazarus pit are still within him. He returned from death as an infant. You think that Ra’s would not wish to find out how. That he would not take advantage of his youth in hopes that it might lead to true immortality. You, above all, know what he is capable of.”

“Mother, please inform Jid that if he lays a hand on Jason,” Damian thumbed his chest, “ I will kill him.”

“Damian?!” Bruce and Talia said in unison.

Damian went and stood by Alfred. He placed a gentle hand on Jason’s bald head. “Jason is my brother and I will defend him to the death if necessary.”

Talia sighed heavily through her nose. “Ra’s will come. And I will not be able to intervene.”

Damian relieved Jason from Alfred’s hold. He started toward the stairs and said, “Let him come. We’ll be ready.” 

Bruce watched as Damian took Jason up to the manor. He would need to remind himself to tell Damian later that he was proud of him for standing up to his mother.

“My beloved, please, be cautious. Ra’s will come. I fear for what he may want the child for. Alfred explained that there was no magic or curse. Whatever power that can return one to the moment of their birth is going to be a curiosity that he will need to investigate. Be safe, my love.”

Talia gripped his elbow and leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. She quickly disappeared into the dark tunnel and was gone. 

Alfred stood and grasped Bruce’s shoulder and pat him on the back. 

“If that will be all, sir.”

“Yeah, Alfred. Thank you for keeping him safe.”

Alfred smiled slightly, “No problem at all, sir. My pleasure. Now if you will excuse me, Master Jason needed a new nappie and I highly doubt that Damian will be the one to change it.”

Bruce chuckled lightly and watched Alfred disappear up the stairs. 

Bruce would never tell anyone else this but Talia stood watch at the manor for three weeks after. She only left after the nanny arrived. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


\--

  
  
  
  


“Are you sure it’s all right?”

“He’s a baby. The only one that will have an issue here, is you. Are you sure?”

Koriand'r paused for a moment. She seemed unsure suddenly. Maybe this was a bad idea after all. She was curious about Jason. They had been a couple once upon a time. When she learned that Jason wouldn’t be aged back up, she asked to see him.

Dick had brought her over for Sunday dinner. Alfred’s standing invitation had extended to allies. He figured the best time to introduce Jason would be when everyone else was there. 

“Miss Kori, such a pleasure to have you join us this evening,” Alfred greeted her with a smile as they arrived. 

“Thank you for having me.”

“Sorry we’re late, Alf. Got a late start. Who else is here?”

“Masters Bruce, Timothy and Damian are all present. Miss Cassandra will also be late, but assures me she is on her way. Miss Stephanie moved into her dormitory today and will not be joining us.”

“Almost a full house,” Dick quipped. 

“What about…?” Kori started. 

Dick looked at her for a moment trying to glean what she was saying when his brain finally supplied, Jason. However, Alfred was a little quicker on the uptake than he was. 

“Master Jason is in the dining room. He has already eaten though.” 

Dick and Kori headed toward the dining room. They could hear Tim and Damian loudly teasing each other with more and more raucous names. 

“Listen here you little gremlin, for the last time, stay out of my room.”

“I wasn’t in your room. Troglodyte.”

“What’d you say to me?”

“Boys, that’s enough.”

“Yes, Father.”

“He started it.”

Dick cleared his throat. Three pairs of eyes landed on him and Kori. 

“Hey, Kori,” Tim said. 

“Princess,” Damian acknowledged. 

“Please sit and save me from these two,” Bruce offered and gestured to the open seats at the table. 

Dick pulled the chair out for Kori and then sat himself. He spied Jason sleeping in the bouncy seat at Bruce’s feet. Kori did too as he saw her eyes widened. 

“Oh my goodness, he is so tiny,” Kori exclaimed, “And bald.”

Bruce picked up the bouncy seat and placed it on the table. He turned it so that Kori could get a close up view of the sleeping infant. A thin line of drool dripped from Jason’s mouth and Kori swiped it away with her fingers. She unbuckled him and carefully pulled him from the seat. Jason smiled briefly in his slumber and sighed. 

“I’m going to miss him,” Koriand'r said quietly after a moment. 

“We all do,” Dick said, “But not gonna lie. I am just glad that he’s still here and we get to watch him grow up again.”

“He’ll be raised properly this time,” Damian added. 

“Yeah, he’ll have plenty of food and no one will ever hit him,” Tim said.

“It’s all so different. I’ve never seen him so vulnerable.”

“I assure you, Miss Koriand'r, that he is well protected,” Alfred said, as he came into the dining room with their dinner. 

Everyone nodded in agreement with Alfred's statement. Dick took Jason from Kori and placed him back in his bouncy seat. Despite being asleep, Jason kept moving. His limbs were almost always in motion. Alfred went and bought little mittens to go over his hands because he’d scratched himself a few times. Dick inhaled the scent on Jason’s head as he buckled him back into the bouncy seat. 

Kori traced a finger down Jason’s puffy cheek before she smiled. “He’s going to be different when he grows up?”

“Yes,” Dick answered.

“I can’t wait to meet him again.”

  
  
  
  
  


—

  
  
  
  
  


Bruce walked into the living room and stopped in his tracks. 

“Diana? What are you doing here?”

“I came to see the baby,” Diana said, never once taking her eyes off the sleeping infant swaddled in her arms. She gently traced a finger over the swell of Jason’s lips and cooed at him. “You left so quickly the other day I felt that I didn’t get a chance to properly adore him.”

Bruce took off his jacket and loosened his tie. “I’m sorry that we left so abruptly.”

“Alfred tells me that he's going to grow up all over again. How do you feel about that?”

Bruce paused. No one had asked him that yet. He had been so consumed with trying to find answers and trying to take care of Jason at the same time. He was so concerned with making sure that everyone else was okay with the unexpected transformation that no one had probably thought to ask him. 

He sat down on the arm of the chair and laid his hand over Jason’s head. Alfred had bought several baby beanies to cover his bald head. He didn’t even have any of that baby fine peach fuzz. He was struck with the sudden desire to tease the adult version of Jason about wanting to nickname him ‘Kojak’. But then he remembered that he couldn’t. That Jason no longer exists. That Jason died. That Jason would never return. 

Diana placed her hand over his on Jason’s head. She didn’t say anything while Bruce shed his tears for the loss of his son for a second time. Yes, he had a version of Jason that would live and hopefully thrive and survive better than his adult version. But he mourned his loss. He hadn’t done that yet. He should have done it sooner. But now his emotions laid bare for Diana to witness and he couldn’t stop the tears streaming down his face. 

“I miss him so much,” he managed after a moment. 

Diana came to stand and leaned in to hug him. Bruce can count on one hand the number of times Diana has hugged him. It wasn’t that she was not a hugger, it’s that Bruce wasn’t. But she held Jason fast to her with one arm and wrapped the other around his back. Bruce melted into the physical contact and allowed himself a moment of release. 

Diana stepped back and swiped a few errant tears and touched her forehead to his. “It’s okay to grieve for him. I cannot imagine the pain of losing a child. Never mind losing them twice.”

Diana shifted the bundle into his arms. She kissed his forehead and bent down to kiss Jason. “Third time's a charm.”

Bruce stared down at Jason. His face lax in peaceful slumber. The little scratch on his cheek from his own fingernails had faded quickly. Bruce lifted his son close to his face and inhaled. He didn’t smell like smoke or engine grease or leather or sweat or blood or gunpowder or anything like the adult Jason. But the scent was still uniquely him. 

His boy. His son. His Jason. 

  
  



End file.
